Portfolio the Blog: 52,000 Reasons to Say Thanks!

Posted on December 31, 2015 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

The WordPress.Com stat monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for Portfolio.  Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 52,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 19 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

As Editor, every time I go through the back door of Portfolio world to check on the stats of a particular blog post; the daily views; the likes, follows and whether clicks are down or up; I am reminded often that the great ones all say an overnight success takes at least a decade or more.  It’s hard to imagine Sylvester Stallone as a struggling actor, but early in his life, Stallone was just that. He had $50 to his name when he moved to New York and slept in the Port Authority Bus Terminal because he couldn’t afford rent. I like to think of Portfolio as the Rocky Balboa of blogs, building strength and success over time, blog by blog.

Seven months ago, the Port Authority didn’t have a blog and most old timers – Port Authority people with the longest institutional memory about all-things Port Authority – couldn’t tell you what a blog was.  Still we received 52,000 all-time views for 2015 – that’s 52,000 reasons to say thanks for the comments, ideas and leads; thanks to our bloggers for their time and creativity; thanks to our photographers (both vintage and present day), for without their amazing work, I seriously doubt we’d have gotten anywhere near 52,000 views.

Thanks most of all to Portfolio’s growing audience of readers.  Sometimes we were great and sometimes not so much, but you stuck with us anyway.  We’ve got big plans to double our numbers for 2016.  We’re challenging ourselves to be more relevant and compelling in our content.  We intend to grow our universe of bloggers.  And, we will present more useful and easily accessible information in an expanded redesign.  Thanks again for your support during this first foray into the blogosphere.

— Roz Hamlett, Portfolio Editor

Click here to see the complete report.

Posted in film trivia, movie buffs, movies, PABT, PANYNJ, Port Authority, Port Authority Bus Terminal, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port Authority of NY/NJ, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Few Good Women and Men: Port Authority Police Heroes of 2015

Posted on December 29, 2015 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

By Roz Hamlett, Portfolio Editor

Click each photo to learn about these heroes and their service to the region 

Earlier this month, Port Authority Police Officers Marcus Credle and Leland Rogan saved the life of an 86-year-old man by reviving him with a defibrillator at the Newport PATH station in Jersey City
Life renewed itself in the World Trade Center PATH station as Port Authority Police Officer Brian McGraw holds baby girl Asenat Abdrabo whom he helped deliver when her mother went into labor at the PATH station. The event was immediately hailed as the first birth at the WTC site since 9/11
The Port Authority Police’s George Washington Bridge Command was honored during a ceremony in Fort Lee for saving lives at the span this year. From left: PAPD Lt. Daniel McCabe, Officer Lavern Watson, Lt. Mark Ciganek, Officer Juan Guzman, VHS Chair Mimi Kassel, Officer Brian Ahern, Lt. Michael Hennessy, Officer Kameel Juman, VHS President/CEO Vicki Sidrow, Inspector Geraldo Silva, Deputy

Some of the bravest and best people in the world wear the Port Authority uniform and badge, delivering babies, defibrillating ailing hearts, pulling people from car wrecks and preventing people from taking their lives.   Yet for every story of heroism that we read or watch on television, there are countless unsung heroes who perform quiet acts of service everyday that don’t draw much attention, but make a big difference in people’s lives.  In this photo gallery, Portfolio celebrates the singular acts of service of just a few heroes, but we are saying thank you to all the special men and women who protected this region and placed their lives on the line for us in 2015.

 

 

 

Posted in PAPD, Port Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port Authority Police Department, Portfolio, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

PATH Featured in Hottest Show of the Year

Posted on December 24, 2015 by PANYNJ PORTfolio

By Gregory Quinn, Special to the Port Authority

‘Tis the season for binge-watching television in your pajamas, and one of the most popular shows this winter holiday is Marvel’s Jessica Jones, currently streaming on Netflix for your prolonged viewing pleasure — with a cameo role for a PATH train.  Starring Krysten Ritter as the superhero-turned-private eye, Jessica Jones is set in Manhattan’s iconic Hell’s Kitchen (just like that other Netflix superhero hit, Daredevil) and as such, is awash in moody images of New York lore. Most of the series was shot outside of Hell’s Kitchen, however; the producers opted to film primarily in various neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.  And of course, what’s a New York-set show without obligatory subway scenes? Jessica Jones has its share of those, too, except for this show, the creators decided to shoot on the PATH train of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, rather than the city’s subway trains. The 33rd street PATH station also was used. View below for familiar images during filming on the PATH.

According to Netflix Location Manager, Jason Farrar: We were able to use a platform of the [33rd Street]Station between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the ridership is low. We were able to use an area to use a train and to use a track and platform exclusively during those hours. It required a lot of planning because of the shortness of time, and we did stunt stuff down there. There’s a visual effects element because you have the third rail. You can’t really can’t have people down on the train when the train is coming through. And there’s what’s called compositing. You take a shot of the train coming without a person and then you put a person down there without the train coming. Then you composite the two together.

 

 

Posted in film trivia, New Jersey, New York, PATH, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port Authority Trans Hudson, television trivia, Trans-Hudson, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment